
Trump's Labor Department proposes more than 60 rule changes in a push to deregulate workplaces
If approved, the wide-ranging changes unveiled this month also would affect working conditions at constructions sites and in mines , and limit the government's ability to penalize employers if workers are injured or killed while engaging in inherently risky activities such as movie stunts or animal training.
The Labor Department says the goal is to reduce costly, burdensome rules imposed under previous administrations, and to deliver on President Donald Trump's commitment to restore American prosperity through deregulation.
'The Department of Labor is proud to lead the way by eliminating unnecessary regulations that stifle growth and limit opportunity,' Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement, which boasted the 'most ambitious proposal to slash red tape of any department across the federal government.'
Critics say the proposals would put workers at greater risk of harm , with women and members of minority groups bearing a disproportionate impact.
'People are at very great risk of dying on the job already,' Rebecca Reindel, the AFL-CIO union's occupational safety and health director, said. 'This is something that is only going to make the problem worse.'
The proposed changes have several stages to get through before they can take effect, including a public comment period for each one.
Here's a look at some of the rollbacks under consideration:
Home health care workers help elderly or medically fragile people by preparing meals, administering medications, assisting with toilet use, accompanying clients to doctor appointments and performing other tasks. Under one of the Labor Department's proposals, an estimated 3.7 million workers employed by home care agencies could be paid below the federal minimum wage — currently $7.25 per hour — and made ineligible for overtime pay if they aren't covered by corresponding state laws .
The proposed rule would reverse changes made in 2013 under former President Barack Obama and revert to a regulatory framework from 1975. The Labor Department says that by lowering labor and compliance costs, its revisions might expand the home care market and help keep frail individuals in their homes for longer.
Judy Conti, director of government affairs at the National Employment Law Project, said her organization plans to work hard to defeat the proposal. Home health workers are subject to injuries from lifting clients, and 'before those (2013) regulations, it was very common for home care workers to work 50, 60 and maybe even more hours a week, without getting any overtime pay,' Conti said.
Others endorse the proposal, including the Independent Women's Forum, a conservative nonprofit based in Virginia. Women often bear the brunt of family caregiving responsibilities , so making home care more affordable would help women balance work and personal responsibilities, the group's president, Carrie Lukas, said.
'We're pleased to see the Trump administration moving forward on rolling back some of what we saw as counterproductive micromanaging of relationships that were making it hard for people to get the care they need,' Lukas said.
Samantha Sanders, director of government affairs and advocacy at the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, said the repeal would not constitute a win for women.
'Saying we actually don't think they need those protections would be pretty devastating to a workforce that performs really essential work and is very heavily dominated by women, and women of color in particular,' Sanders said.
Last year, the Labor Department finalized rules that provided protections to migrant farmworkers who held H-2A visas . The current administration says most of those rules placed unnecessary and costly requirements on employers.
Under the new proposal, the Labor Department would rescind a requirement for most employer-provided transportation to have seat belts for those agriculture workers.
The department is also proposing to reverse a 2024 rule that protected migrant farmworkers from retaliation for activities such as filing a complaint, testifying or participating in an investigation, hearing or proceeding.
'There's a long history of retaliation against workers who speak up against abuses in farm work. And with H-2A it's even worse because the employer can just not renew your visa,' said Lori Johnson, senior attorney at Farmworker Justice.
Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, applauded the deregulation efforts, saying farmers were hit with thousands of pages of regulations pertaining to migrant farmworkers in recent years.
'Can you imagine a farmer and his or her spouse trying to navigate 3,000 new pages of regulation in 18 months and then be liable for every one of them?' he asked.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration , part of the Labor Department, wants to rescind a requirement for employers to provide adequate lighting at construction sites, saying the regulation doesn't substantially reduce a significant risk.
OSHA said if employers fail to correct lighting deficiencies at construction worksites, the agency can issue citations under its 'general duty clause.' The clause requires employers to provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards which are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
Worker advocates think getting rid of a specific construction site requirement is a bad idea. 'There have been many fatalities where workers fall through a hole in the floor, where there's not adequate lighting,' Reindel said. 'It's a very obvious thing that employers should address, but unfortunately it's one of those things where we need a standard, and it's violated all the time.'
Several proposals could impact safety procedures for mines. For example, employers have to submit plans for ventilation and preventing roof collapses in coal mines for review by the Labor Department's Mine Safety and Health Administration . Currently, MSHA district managers can require mine operators to take additional steps to improve those plans.
The Labor Department wants to end that authority, saying the current regulations give the district manager the ability to draft and create laws without soliciting comments or action by Congress.
Similarly, the department is proposing to strip district managers of their ability to require changes to mine health and safety training programs.
The general duty clause allows OSHA to punish employers for unsafe working conditions when there's no specific standard in place to cover a situation.
An OSHA proposal would exclude the agency from applying the clause to prohibit, restrict or penalize employers for 'inherently risky professional activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic, or entertainment occupations.'
A preliminary analysis identified athletes, actors, dancers, musicians, other entertainers and journalists as among the types of workers the limitation would apply to.
'It is simply not plausible to assert that Congress, when passing the Occupational Safety and Health Act, silently intended to authorize the Department of Labor to eliminate familiar sports and entertainment practices, such as punt returns in the NFL, speeding in NASCAR, or the whale show at SeaWorld ,' the proposed rule reads.
Debbie Berkowitz, who served as OSHA chief of staff during the Obama administration, said she thinks limiting the agency's enforcement authority would be a mistake.
'Once you start taking that threat away, you could return to where they'll throw safety to the wind, because there are other production pressures they have,' Berkowitz said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
25 minutes ago
- The Hill
6 months in, Trump's unorthodox foreign policy is rewriting the rules
President Trump's return to office has marked a fundamental departure from conventional foreign policy approaches that have dominated Washington for decades. His first six months demonstrate how unorthodox methods — transactional negotiations, direct pressure and strategic leverage — can achieve breakthroughs that traditional diplomatic playbooks consistently failed to deliver. The results challenge long-held assumptions about international relations. Where successive administrations have relied on multilateral consensus-building and careful diplomatic protocol, Trump has moved decisively to address longstanding challenges through direct engagement and clear incentives. The outcomes speak for themselves: concrete achievements that decades of conventional wisdom could not produce. The June NATO summit in Brussels exemplifies this transformation. Trump secured an unprecedented agreement from member nations to increase defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2035, with Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania committing to reach 5 percent within the decade. This represents the largest collective defense spending increase since the alliance's founding. For decades, American presidents from both parties have struggled to convince NATO allies to shoulder more of the defense burden. George W. Bush, Barack Obama and others made passionate appeals with minimal results. Trump's direct pressure on individual leaders — including frank conversations about the consequences of continued free-riding — achieved what 20 years of diplomatic consensus-building could not. The breakthrough reveals how Trump's willingness to challenge diplomatic norms can produce substantive results. When allies understand that America's patience with free-riding has limits, they respond accordingly. Perhaps nowhere is Trump's departure from conventional wisdom more evident than in Iran policy. His coordination with Israel on strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities in July set back Tehran's nuclear program by up to two years according to Pentagon officials cited by Reuters — a more concrete achievement than decades of sanctions and diplomatic engagement that was slow-walking Tehran to having a nuclear bomb. This wasn't reckless escalation — it was calculated deterrence after years of failed accommodation strategies that spanned multiple administrations. Iran's subsequent diplomatic overtures to European partners suggest the strikes achieved their intended effect. Where traditional approaches allowed Iran's regional influence to grow unchecked, Trump's decisive action has forced Tehran to recalculate its strategic position. The success challenges the foreign policy establishment's preference for extended diplomatic processes over direct action. Sometimes, as Trump demonstrates, credible threats require credible follow-through. Immigration policy demonstrates another area where Trump's approach has succeeded. New agreements with Mexico and Central American nations include enhanced enforcement provisions and expanded return protocols, contributing to a more than 90 percent reduction in detected border crossings in May compared to the previous year, according to Department of Homeland Security data. The key difference lies in leverage. Trump used trade access and visa negotiations to secure these commitments, demonstrating that America's economic power can be an effective diplomatic tool. Mexico agreed to deploy additional forces along its southern border in exchange for streamlined trade procedures — a classic win-win arrangement that Biden's team never successfully negotiated. This success highlights a broader truth about international relations: Countries respond to clear incentives and consequences. When America articulates its interests clearly and backs them with appropriate leverage, even reluctant partners find ways to cooperate. Trump's approach to Africa represents a fundamental departure from the aid-focused diplomacy that characterized previous administrations. Rather than continental tours filled with promises of development assistance, Trump has hosted five African leaders at the White House in recent months, emphasizing trade and investment opportunities. This shift addresses a critical gap in American foreign policy. While recent presidents maintained traditional approaches that often created dependency relationships, Trump is building partnerships based on mutual economic interest. Early agreements with Liberia and Senegal focus on critical mineral extraction and energy partnerships — arrangements that benefit both American businesses and African development. The message is clear: America seeks partners, not dependents. By reframing relationships around mutual economic interest rather than charity, Trump is building more sustainable and dignified partnerships. Perhaps most surprisingly, Trump's tough approach has yielded diplomatic breakthroughs that eluded his predecessor. In late June, he hosted talks between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo that produced a cease-fire agreement including troop withdrawals and commitments to joint economic development. The success came from Trump's willingness to use America's full diplomatic and economic weight — not to lecture, but to incentivize. This contrasts sharply with Biden's reactive approach to international crises, which often left the U.S. struggling to respond effectively to fast-moving global events. As we assess these first six months, the question isn't whether Trump's methods conform to diplomatic norms — it's whether they work. The evidence suggests they do. In a world where traditional institutions struggle to address complex challenges, Trump's transactional approach offers a compelling alternative. His first six months suggest that sometimes bold action succeeds where diplomatic convention fails. Kurt Davis Jr. is a Millennium Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also an advisor to private, public, and state-owned companies and their boards as well as creditors across the globe on a range of transactions.


Washington Post
26 minutes ago
- Washington Post
‘South Park' makes fun of Trump over Epstein list, Paramount lawsuit
'South Park' has already begun making waves with a particularly raunchy season premiere Wednesday night. The episode took aim at President Donald Trump as his administration faces pressure to release the Epstein files and featured jabs about his Paramount settlement. 'Sermon on the Mount,' the Comedy Central show's first episode of its 27th season, repeatedly showed the 'South Park' version of Trump trying to cozy up in bed with Satan.

Business Insider
26 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Feeling generous? You can Venmo the US government to help pay down the debt
Helping the federal government pay down the country's soaring national debt is now as easy as reimbursing your friend for a round of drinks. Earlier this year, the US Treasury Department began accepting Venmo payments on where individuals can go online to contribute gifts to reduce the public debt. The department had already accepted payments via credit card, debit card, and bank account, and it has accepted charitable contributions for decades. According to Treasury data, the government has brought in roughly $120,000 a month in charitable contributions to pay down the debt since 2020. The Treasury received more than $2.7 million in gifts in 2024, and roughly $1 million in 2023. In the first five months of this year, the department brought in about $434,500. Reached by Business Insider, a spokesperson for the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service did not immediately provide comment on the change. According to the Wayback Machine, Venmo was added as a payment method between February 22 and March 8 of this year. NPR reporter Jack Corbett first identified the change on Wednesday. The United States government is more than $36 trillion in debt, a number that's only expected to grow in the coming years. President Donald Trump's"Big Beautiful Bill," recently approved by Congress, is projected to add an additional $3.4 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.